SCOTTISH SALMON-FISHING 179 



him. After several gallant rushes this virile fish 

 again took another run to the north bank, but this 

 time we followed him more easily, and the subse- 

 quent strain was sufficient for a time to prevent 

 him from getting back into the main current in the 

 centre of the river, where he could do as he liked. 

 For three-quarters of an hour this gallant salmon 

 never rested for a moment. Unlike most big fish, 

 he absolutely scorned to be sulky, and continued 

 to battle until the very last moment. At least 

 twenty times I thought I had him done, and yet 

 there was always another spurt, and out I had to 

 let him go. But even the powers of such a warrior 

 have their limits, and at last Haggart, who was a 

 skilled gaffer, and not averse to " wettin' his feet," 

 ran into the river and got his cleek home. Though 

 perhaps not as large as we had hoped, it weighed 

 36 J lbs. The freshness of its advent from the sea 

 had accounted for the great fight this fish put up. 

 I have killed many salmon, from the little fellows 

 of the Flekkefjord of Norway to the giant Tyee of 

 British Columbia, but never have I seen one fight 

 so continuously or so fiercely without a moment's 

 pause as did that Eels-brig fellow. I sent the fish 

 to my wife, to whom I was then engaged, in a little 

 village in Lincolnshire. She wrote, *' Your big 

 salmon made a sensation here. The entire village 

 turned out to see it, and the miller arrived with his 

 scales in a cart to weigh it, for such a creature had 

 never been seen before, and they couldn't believe 

 it was a salmon. Nearly every one in the place 

 had a piece." 



Although very fond of a day at the salmon, 

 most of my time was spent in shooting, so I hardly 





